View source for Cohors V Delmatarum c.R.

{{Infobox Military Unit
|unit_name=Cohors V Delmatarum c.R.
|image=Weisenau type helmets, Carnuntum.jpg
|image_size=75px
|caption=Roman infantry helmet (late 1st century)
|dates=AD 14 until at least 158
|country=[[Roman Empire]]
|type=[[Roman auxiliary]] [[Cohort (military unit)|cohort]]
|role=infantry
|size=480 men
|garrison=[[Mauretania Tingitana]] 88–158
}}
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:RomanEmpire 125.svg|thumb|right|300px|Provinces of the Roman empire in c. 125 AD]] -->
'''Cohors quinta Delmatarum civium Romanorum''' ("5th Cohort of Dalmatae Roman citizens") was a [[Roman auxiliary]] infantry regiment. It is named after the [[Dalmatae]] (or ''Delmatae''), an [[Illyrian language|Illyrian]]-speaking tribe that inhabited the [[Adriatic]] coastal mountain range of the eponymous [[Dalmatia]]. The ancient geographer [[Strabo]] describes these mountains as extremely rugged, and the Dalmatae as backward and warlike. He claims that they did not use money long after their neighbours adopted it and that they "made war on the Romans for a long time". He also criticises the Dalmatae, a nation of pastoralists, for turning fertile plains into sheep pasture.<ref>Strabo ''Geographia'' VII.5</ref> Indeed, the name of the tribe itself is believed to mean "shepherds", derived from the Illyrian word ''delme'' ("sheep").<ref>Spaul (2000) 304</ref> The final time this people fought against Rome was in the [[Illyrian revolt]] of AD 6–9. The revolt was started by Dalmatae auxiliary forces and soon spread all over [[Dalmatia (Roman province)|Dalmatia]] and [[Pannonia]]. The resulting war was described by the Roman writer [[Suetonius]] as the most difficult faced by Rome since the [[Punic Wars]] two centuries earlier. But after the war, the Dalmatae became a loyal and important source of recruits for the Roman army.
According to Holder, a total of 12 ''cohortes Delmatarum'' appear to have been raised after the suppression of the Illyrian revolt in two series, of 7 and 5 respectively. All these units were in existence by the time of emperor [[Claudius]] (r. 41-54)<ref name="Holder 1980 112">Holder (1980) 112</ref> Of these, 9 appear to have survived into the 2nd century.<ref>Spaul (2000) 302-14</ref>
The regiment was probably raised by founder-emperor [[Augustus]] (r. 30 BC - AD 14) after 9 AD. It was certainly in existence by the time of [[Claudius]] (r. 41-54).<ref name="Holder 1980 112"/><ref>Spaul (2000) 308</ref> It is unclear why two ''cohortes Delmatarum'' were given the same number ''V'': this regiment and another ''V Delmatarum'' in [[Germania Superior]]). Spaul suggests the regiment in Mauretania may be the [[cohors I Liburnorum]],  renamed. The regiment first appears in the datable epigraphic record in AD 88 in [[Mauretania Tingitana]]. It was still there in 158, the time of its last datable inscription.
Apart from [[Roman military diploma|diplomas]], there is no epigraphic evidence for this unit. The regiment's title ''c.R.'' first appears in a diploma of 122. The honorific title ''civium Romanorum'' (''c.R.'' for short) was normally awarded by the emperor for valour to an auxiliary regiment as a whole. The award would include the grant of [[Roman citizenship]] to all the regiment's men, but not to subsequent recruits to the regiment. The regiment, however, would retain the prestigious title in perpetuity.<ref>Goldsworthy (2005) 97</ref> (N.B. Until 212, only a minority of the empire's inhabitants (inc. all Italians) held full [[Roman citizenship]]. The rest were denoted ''[[Peregrinus (Roman)|peregrini]]'', a second-class status. Since the [[Roman legion|legion]]s admitted only citizens, ''peregrini'' could only enlist in the auxilia. Citizenship carried a number of tax and other privileges and was highly sought-after. It could be earned by serving in the auxilia for the minimum 25-year term.
== See also ==
* [[List of Roman auxiliary regiments]]
== Citations ==
{{reflist}}
== References ==
* Goldsworthy, Adrian ''The Complete Roman Army'' (2005)
* Holder, Paul ''Studies in the Auxilia of the Roman Army'' (1980)
* Spaul, John ''COHORS 2'' (2000)
[[Category:Auxiliary infantry units of ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Dalmatia (Roman province)]]
[[Category:Mauretania Tingitana]]